The Match Game
The Match Game (stylized as The MATCH GamE) is a game of judgment before the 1970s classic comedy version we all know & love. Game Format Two teams of three players (consisting of two civilian contestants & one celebrity team captain), competed in this early version which is a game of judgment. Host Rayburn read a question in which the possibilities are endless, plus they weren't restricted to fill-in-the-blank types. All six team members write down their answers on their cards and raised their hands to indicate that they're finished. Each player revealed their answers one player at a time and their objective is to match their teammates. For each match the team's answer, they scored 25 points (10 pts. early in the run from New Year's Eve 1962 to February 1, 1963.) If no match isn't created whatsoever, Gene reads the question again and the players rewrite their answers (they can be the same or can be different). The first team to reach 100 points (this make 4 Matches and before that there's 10 Matches) wins the game, collects $100 and go on to play the Audience Match. The Audience Match In the Audience Match, the winning team attempted to match members of the previous studio audience. Host Rayburn asked 3 Secret Survey Questions and on each question, the team gives their own individual verbal answers to what they think is the number one answer "THE BEST ANSWER" (they can agree or disagree on each other's answers). The contestants divide $50 for each player on the team that gives the #1 answer (the best answer) for a maximum of $150, so with three questions, they can win up to $450. Beginning with the January 2, 1964 broadcast, The 3 Secret Survey Questions were polled with 100 people or less. The Telephone MATCH On February 27-March 3, 1967 the show introduced a "The Telephone MATCH" game powered by AT&T (The American Telephone and Telegraph Bell System Company-AT&T Bell System in 1967-1969,) in which a home viewer and a studio audience member attempted to match a simple fill-in-the-blank question similar to the 1970s' "Head-To-Head Match". A successful match win the share of the cash jackpot which started at $500 and increased by $100 per day (from February 27 to April 28, 1967, It's placed $50 per single day) until it's a exact match. The contestants received a consolation prize if they didn't match. Pilot The pilot was exactly the same as the series except that the scoring format was different. In the main game, each match was worth 10 points with 50 needed to win. The contestants on the winning team split $100. Each match made in the Audience Match was worth $25 for maximum of $75 on each question. Four questions were asked, so the maximum total was $300. Personnel *Host: Gene Rayburn (1962-69) *Sub-Hosts: Art James (April Fools Day 1963-69) & Ed McMahon (September 16-20, 1968) *Announcer: Johnny Olson *Substitute Announcers: Wayne Howell (1963), Don Pardo (1964-65), Mel Brandt (1966-67), Roger Tuttle (1968-69) & Bill Hallaran, Bill Wendell & Howard Reig (both in 1969) *Executive Producer: Robert Noah (1962-67) & Jean Kopelman (1967-69) *Producer: Jean Kopelman (1962-67) *Directors: Jim Elson (1962-63 as James Elson), Mike Garguilo, Rodger Wolf (both alternatives in 1963 as Michael Garguilo & Rodger Wolf) & Ira Skutch (1963-69) *Set Designer: Otis Riggs Jr. & Ted Cooper (as Otis Riggs & Theodore Cooper) Broadcast History December 31, 1962-September 26, 1969 (NBC Weekdays at 4:00-4:25 PM Eastern with 5-Minute NBC Newscast) Trivia *The original theme song is “Swingin’ Safari” and it's performed by Bert Kaempfert (1962-1967.) The second theme song shares its title with the show called "The MATCH GamE." It was written and performed by Charles "Charlie" Fox & The Score Production Band (1967-1969.) *This was the first version to be taped in New York City, the second version was for ABC (simply known as Match Game) hosted by Alec Baldwin since 2016. Merchandise Nine home versions of The Match Game were made by Milton Bradley (six standard boxed editions, including a "Fine Edition", "Collector's Edition" and a "Briefcase Edition" from 1963 to 1969.) Promo Ad mb7.jpg Regular Editions match game vintage board games 1963.jpg $(KGrHqVHJ!8FH6ouQLfNBSEVW+RT7g~~60_12.JPG 4367475415_c1ba81a0fc.jpg $T2eC16h,!)EE9s2uiwzzBQ-yc,bDeg~~60_57.JPG il_570xN.452540733_k3p9.jpg tumblr_mlu34lrkOj1s2xpeeo1_500.jpg Special Editions 185px-$(KGrHqRHJDoFDEjZ!gRrBQyU(juDS!~~60_35.JPG pic95314_t.jpg Photos Press TMG1.png TMG2.png TMG3.png TMG4.jpg TMG5.jpg TMG6.jpg TMG8.jpg TMG9.JPG TMG10.jpg TMG11.jpg 12991099 675178152620072 1165099961543690251 n.jpg TMG12.jpg TMG13.jpg TMG017.jpg 13707813 10209880486313140 3634984673321069049 n.jpg 36254911_2033731033510348_8841685830926860288_n.png TMG7.jpg Mgid ao image mtv.jpg TMG14.jpg MGDec1968.jpg|Contestant/Guest rehearsal, December 1968 10012802_646085262095693_1462262285_o.jpg MG19683.jpg MG19684.jpg MG19685.jpg TV Week 12191645_709746275829299_2603018481320457907_n.jpg Tickets The Match Game (June 27, 1963).jpg The Match Game (September 10, 1964).jpg The Match Game (March 29, 1965).jpg TMG16.jpg The Match Game (May 10, 1965).png TMGTickets1966.JPG TMG15.jpg Ad TMGAD1963.jpg Screen Caps 1962 Pilot mg62_rayburn.jpg mg62_cass.jpg mg62_hayes.jpg mg62_hands.jpg mg62_bonus.jpg mg62_credit.jpg 1962-1969 Series TMG.jpg TMG1.jpg TMG2.jpg TMG3.jpg TMG04.jpg TMG05.jpg TMG06.jpg TMG07.jpg TMG08.jpg TMG9.jpg TMG010.jpg TMG011.jpg TMG012.jpg TMG013.jpg TMG014.jpg TMG015.jpg TMG016.jpg TMG17.jpg Episode Status See Also: The Match Game/Episode Guide Only 11 episodes are known to survive: the pilot and ten kinescope recordings, all of which are archived at the Paley Center for Media. Nine of these are black-and-white kinescopes and one is a color episode (from 1969, and presumably also a kinescope). Video See Also Match Game 1973-1982 Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour Match Game (1985 Proposed Revival) Match Game (1987 Proposed Revival) Match Game (1990) MG2 Match Game (1998) What the Blank! Match Game (2008 pilot) Match Game (2016) Links The Match Game ('62) Pilot @ usgameshows.net Category:Match Game Category:Game Shows A-M Category:NBC Daytime Category:1962 Premiere Category:1969 Ending